


an odd family, but a family all the same

by UnapologeticallyBaratheon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe: Canon Divergence, M/M, Raising Harry, Sirius is never sent to Azkaban
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 05:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3476018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnapologeticallyBaratheon/pseuds/UnapologeticallyBaratheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a universe where Sirius never went to Azkaban, Harry is raised by his godfather and Remus Lupin. But something strange is afoot when they send him off to his fourth year at Hogwarts. </p>
<p>The events of Goblet of Fire if Sirius and Remus had raised Harry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Sirius!" Harry came thumping down the stairs, jumping the last few steps.

Sirius looked up from his crossword at his godson 

"Yeah?" 

Remus came in from the kitchen with a cup of tea and handed it to Sirius

"Ron's dad got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup!" He said excitedly, handing the letter to his godfather "Can we go? Please?"

Sirius looked excitedly up at Remus, who was reading over his shoulder

"I don't see why not." He said. Harry pumped the air with his fist and Sirius jumped around excitedly.

"Write back right now!" Sirius said. Remus rolled his eyes but smiled as Harry rushed to get a quill. 

"Moony, the World Cup!" 

"I heard. Who d'you reckon will win?" Remus said

"Oh Ireland easy." He said. He's been following the tournaments with glee, talking to Harry avidly about the winners and losers. Remus swore he had cried when England was knocked out. Remus was rooting for Wales, but they were knocked out a few months ago. 

Harry ran back in and sent Hedwig out the kitchen window.

"We'll have to pack." Remus said "It's coming up soon."

Sirius kissed Remus on the cheek and jumped up to go get started. Harry grinned at Remus 

"You seem excited." Remus said

"Well I've never seen a professional Quidditch game before." 

"Oh I suppose you haven't. It's quite an event. Though wizards tend to get a little out of hand at sporting events."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked

"Oh you'll see." Remus said with a smirk "Of you get, better get packing."

\-----------

Mrs. Weasley shook Remus and Sirius awake early that morning. Remus resisted, groaning and pressing his face into the crook of Sirius' arm.

"C'mon." Sirius said drowsily "Wake up."

Remus mumbled something incoherent 

"Moony, wake up."

"I've made you a pot of coffee for the road, Remus." Molly said from the kitchen. The promise of caffeine was enough to grudgingly pull Remus out of sleep. They drearily pulled on clothes and waited for the kids to wander downstairs. Remus leaned heavily in Sirius as if he'd fall down without his help.

"Alright Remus?" Arthur said cheerily 

Remus groaned 

"Never been a morning person." Sirius laughed.

The twins shuffled down the stairs, followed by Ginny and finally Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled downstairs.

Harry looked to be in a similar state to Remus as he shuffled over to them.

"Come on then, can't waste and time!" Arthur said. He trudged out of the door, leading the group out into the garden and down a trail going towards the woods. Remus relied heavily on a cane as they walked along.

"Are you alright, professor?" Hermione asked

"Yes of course, Hermione." He yawned "Had a rough full moon the other night."

"Nothing too serious?"

"Just a sprain." Remus shrugged it off. He turned to Arthur "Where are we going, Arthur?"

"Just up this hill, Remus, you'll see." Remus made a noise and turned to Sirius. 

Sirius gave him a look before transforming into the bear like dog and running around all of their heels, letting the bag he was carrying fall to the ground.

"Sirius!" Remus called out, picking up his discarded bag "You great lump." 

The kids laughed and Harry chased after him. Remus smiled despite himself as Sirius brought him a stick.

"No, no, no. Wrong tree. Go find one of the kids, I don't want your slobbery stick."

He whined and trotted along after him until Remus chucked the stick ahead of them. 

He shook his head as Harry came up next to him.

"Your godfather is an idiot." Remus said 

"Yeah, a bit." 

Sirius barked back behind them. They reached the tip of a hill, where a man was waiting with a younger boy.

"Amos, sorry we're late." Arthur called out "Ah, and this must be Cedric."

Remus remembered Cedric from last year, a bright Hufflepuff 6th year. He'd grown a couple of inches the last few months, but was mostly unchanged.

"Mr. Diggory, you're looking well." Remus said

"And you, Professor Lupin." Cedric said, shaking his hand.

Sirius came running back with an even bigger stick

"Oh for heaven's sake, Sirius." Remus rolled his eyes 

"Will you help me with this?"

Amos and Cedric looked confused at Remus sternly addressing a dog.

Amos jumped back as Sirius transformed back into a man.

"Just a bit of fun to stretch the old bones." He laughed. He turned to Cedric and Amos

"Sirius Black, lovely to meet you."

"ah, I've heard your name round the ministry" Amos said

"Well we better hurry on, no time to lose." Arthur said, hurrying them along.

After a little bit of walking, they came across an old boot.

"Alright, everyone! Grab hold." 

They all crowded around the port key, Sirius grimacing

"I hate port keys."

They were suddenly launched, feeling as if they had hooks behind their navels.

When the spinning stopped, they were huddled around the boot in a wood somewhere completely different.

Remus stood and shook himself off, pulling Sirius up with him.

 

They found their tents after hiking a little more and got settled. All of the kids were excitedly running around the camp ground, looking at all the decorated tents and foreign wizards. Remus and Sirius stood outside the tent, people watching. They caught sight of Harry, on his way back from getting water, talking to a girl from his school, his face growing progressively redder

Remus smirked and pointed it out "He's got a crush on her." He said. Sirius swung his head around

"No, he's way too young."

"He's fourteen." 

"And what age were we when we started snogging for the fun of it?" Remus pointed out 

"... Fair enough. D'you know her name?"

"Cho Chang." Remus said "Ravenclaw in fifth year. Don’t stare, Padfoot, you’ll embarrass him.”

“Good! He’s too young to be dating.” Sirius said

“He’s not dating, he just has a crush. And fourteen is hardly too young.” 

Sirius made a face and looked at them “Why did he have to grow up? I was perfectly fine with him being small and babble for his entire life, and then he had to go and get old.” 

“Oh don’t be one of those parents. As long as he’s safe I see no reason why he shouldn’t.” Remus said “He’s responsible. He’s got a better head on his shoulders than the lot of us had at fourteen.”

Sirius frowned but said nothing further. 

Their thoughts were interrupted by two boys from Harry’s year, Seamus and Dean running up to say hi to Remus. 

“I wish you were coming back next year, professor.” Dean said 

“I do, too, Dean. But i’m sure your next professor will be just as, if not more, qualified.” Remus said. 

Seamus shook his head “But they won’t be as good.”

Remus smiled “Thank you for the sentiment, Seamus. You two ought to run off, the match will be starting soon, I imagine.” 

With a final goodbye, the two scurried off. Sirius looked at them fondly 

“Those kids loved you.” Sirius said. Remus smiled sadly 

“Yeah, I suppose they did.” He said. “We should get ready.” 

Remus tended to deflect when thinks came down to how he was feeling. It was a character flaw, and one that frustrated Sirius to no end. They’d often fight about his inability to talk about anything that bothered him. Remus ducked into the tend to grab what they would need for the match. 

They emerged a little while later, clad in green. Sirius was all out, wearing a jersey and a massive green hat covered with shamrocks and (at the kid’s insistance) green face paint. 

Remus was dressed much more modestly, with only a green scarf and a shamrock pinned to his jacket. 

The two of them hung back with Arthur and the older Weasley boys while the kids ran ahead excitedly, looking at the people selling programs and trinkets to all the eager fans. 

They trudged towards the stadium with the growing crowd. They could hardly hear one another by the time they reached the stadium. Sirius clung tightly to Remus’ hand as to not get separated. Remus made sure to keep an eye on Harry as they started ascending higher and higher to the top box. 

“These seats are amazing, Arthur!” Sirius said when they finally reached them. He leaned over the rail to look down at the pitch. Remus hung back, opting to stay in his seat. 

“What’s wrong, Remus?” Harry asked 

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He said

“He hates heights. Your uncle Moony is a coward at any height above 7 or so feet” 

“At least I can kill spiders.” Remus said defensively

Sirius gave him a grin, but it quickly faded as the minister for magic walked into the box, along with the Malfoys. 

Lucius gave a smug look to Sirius and the others. 

“Black, how peculiar to see you out in public. Oh and you’ve brought your tamed werewolf. Incredible they let it out in public.” he said. Remus’ ears turned red and tightened his grip on Sirius’ sleeve as he turned to face them. 

“Narcissa, Lucius, lovely to see you. Tell me, how’s Rosier? And Goyle and Crabbe? 

Lucius’ smirk drifted for a moment, but he stopped himself “Fine, just fine. Ah, and Mr. Potter, too? My, the whole family is here.”

Harry gave Lucius a look of disgust, and even more so to Draco. Sirius had never met his cousin’s son, but had heard nasty things from both Harry and Remus. 

Fudge looked from the Malfoys to the other group 

“Ah, Black, Weasley, good to see you.” he said. He glanced at Remus in an uncomfortable way, but said nothing

“Minister.” Sirius said. His distaste of Fudge had always been apparent, but always had to be cordial unless his job in the Auror department was to be threatened. Sirius turned quickly away from the Malfoys as the Minister began to announce the start of the match.


	2. Chapter 2

“When Millan made that wicked goal from hallway across the pitch?”

“No, that save by Millat!” 

“But Krum’s snitch catch, are you kidding me?”

The kids were excitedly recounting the details of the match to each other while running around the tent excitedly, as they had been for 2 hours since the match ended. 

“Alright, alright, time for bed!” Arthur said “Weasleys, come on.” 

“And Potter!” Sirius said at Harry’s gloating look over Ron 

“Oh come on! I’m not tired at all.” Harry said 

“And if you don’t go to sleep, you’ll be a nightmare in the morning. 

After much argument, they finally got all the kids into bed. Remus collapsed into their own bed not long after, and Sirius curled up next to him.

He slowly drifted into sleep, dreaming that he lived in a huge mushroom. Harry was sleeping on the roof while Remus was slow dancing with a garden gnome. This was interrupted by somebody shoving him awake. He opened his eyes and saw Remus staring intently at the door of the tent. 

“Something’s happening.” he whispered 

“What? It’s probably just the Irish. Go back to bed…” 

Remus shook his head and shoved Sirius again. His ears were always excellent and he had the look on his face like he got when they were at school and Filch was about to burst through the door. 

Sirius perked up and listened himself. It seemed that Arthur had heard it, too. He was on his feet and glancing at the two of them. Remus grabbed his wand and creeped over to the flap. He nudged it open and saw the chaos outside. People were running and screaming, and he could see fire in the distance

“Something’s happening.” He said “Wake the kids.” 

Sirius was up in a flash, running into the other room to wake Harry and Ron. Remus took the twins and Arthur woke up the girls. 

“Something’s happening.” Sirius repeated to the boys as they wearily blinked up at 

They went outside again, Sirius and Remus with their wands brandished 

"Good god." Remus muttered as he saw the view. Death eaters. He recognized the masks. He was brought suddenly to the first war, of devastating battles in muggle streets against masked figures. They were dangling muggles above their heads in a sick and cruel way

"Harry! You and the others go back to the port key, now!" Sirius snapped

"No! I want to stay- I want to-"

"Harry this is not a discussion, go with Ron and Hermione." Remus said. Harry looked about to argue but didn't

"Keep your wand out. Don't come out for anybody but one of us, do you understand?" Sirius told the kids. They nodded. Sirius gave Harry a look before whirling around to join the wizards attempting to stop the death eaters. 

\-----------

Harry was supposed to be asleep. They were finally back at the cottage after the disaster at the World Cup. He was sitting on the stairs, right out of sight of Remus and Sirius as they talked in the living room. 

Harry could tell by the glasses they were using that they were drinking something a lot stronger than tea.

"God I'm fucking worried" that was Remus. There was a rustle as Harry guessed he had set down the Daily Prophet

"I'd think you were an idiot if you weren't. Incidents like this... Feels a lot like last time." Sirius sighed. There was a clinking sound as he downed his drink.

"I suppose the only thing we can do is hope it's just an isolated incident." Remus said

"You don't honestly believe that."

"No, but blind optimism can only help me at this point."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. Harry could imagine Remus' tight lipped smile

"Thank god Harry was alright." Sirius said 

"I'm terrified to have him go back to school at this point."

"At least Mad Eye will be there. And there will be a lot more people from the ministry running around." Sirius said. Harry wondered what "mad eye" meant. Some kind of protective spell?

"The ministry running around makes me more nervous."

"Well you've always been a 'distrust your government' type if person."

"Comes with the territory of being a werewolf."

"I think you get it from your mum. She always was a bit of an anarchist."

Remus chuckled. There was a pause.

"You need to not worry about him." Sirius said after a while "like you said, he's got a good head on his shoulders."

"What can I say, you worry about him dating, I worry about him..."

"Getting fucked by his government?"

"Precisely. I think we have a pretty good hold on the worrying front. I just- I can't help but think of last time. I don't want Harry thrown into a war completely unprepared like we were."

"We weren't completely unprepared." Sirius said "We knew what we were getting into."

"Hardly. Sirius, we were sixteen when Dumbledore approached us and asked us if we wanted to join the order."

"Sixteen is old enough."

"Sixteen is the same age as the Weasley twins. Can you imagine them being asked to fight in a war?"

A beat of silence "I'm hadn't thought of it like that." There was another beat. "We should go to bed. Busy morning ahead of us." They shuffled around in the living room and Harry took it as his queue to tiptoe back up to his room. 

He lay on his bed for a while, thinking. What was the Order? Remus and Sirius never really liked to talk about the first war. Whenever it came up, they got quiet and tense. Harry had gotten bits and pieces of it over the years. Mostly that they'd started fighting right out of school, that Dumbledore told them where to go, and that it had been a bad time for the both of them. And that his parents had died fighting it.

They'd made a point to never lie to Harry when it came to details of his parents, though up until last year they'd lied about Peter Pettigrew, the one who's betrayed them to Voldemort. They'd all had a massive row after that, the biggest one they'd ever had.

And now Harry was getting the sense that there was a lot that they weren't telling him. He hating not trusting Remus and Sirius. They were the only family he had, the only parents he remembered having. But still...

It bothered Harry that they were hiding things from him. He knew, deep down, that if they were hiding something it was to protect him, but he wasn't a child. 

Harry fell asleep on top of his covers, drifting into troubled sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days were a blur of chaos. There were school things to be bought, and Sirius was barely at home. 

“Whole damn department is pure chaos” he said one morning as he grabbed a piece of toast before running off to work again 

“Guess we’ll have to do Diagon Alley on our own, then?” Remus said. They heard a crack as Sirius apparated off to work. Harry nodded and kept poking at his eggs. 

He was quiet all day, even when they went into Quality Quidditch Supplies, Harry’s favorite shop of all time. He was positively gloomy by the time they sat down for lunch at a muggle cafe in London. 

“What’s wrong?” Remus asked after a while “You’ve been moping all day.”

“I’m not moping.” Harry said 

“Oh yeah? And i’m not a werewolf.” Remus said, raising his eyebrows “Come on, you can talk to me.”

“It’s just…” Harry paused, thinking about what he wanted to say “With what happened at the World Cup, and with my scar hurting. You don’t think it means anything, do you?”

Remus pondered this. “Well, it certainly doesn’t mean nothing.” he said “But I wouldn’t dwell on it. If you do, you’ll just scare yourself.”

“But shouldn’t I be a little scared?” Harry asked

“Of course, only a fool wouldn’t be.” Remus said “I’m scared, your godfather is scared. But fear like this, it can cause you to become paranoid, stop trusting people you should be trusting.”

“Is that what happened last time?” Harry asked. It came across like a challenge. Remus bit at his lower lip but nodded. “You never talk about it.”

“The war?” Remus said “Yes, well… I suppose we tried not to when you were younger and just got into the habit.”

“But I’m not a kid anymore.” Harry said

“No, you’re not. But there are still some things you shouldn’t have to know yet.” Remus said “But i’ll tell you what you want to know, if you want.”

Harry nodded and thought for a moment “What were you doing in the war? You and Sirius.”

“We didn’t work side by side to be honest. Your father and Sirius both had jobs in the ministry, so they were a lot more useful. The auror office was able to get information from within the ministry, where a lot of Death Eaters were still working. Your mother, too. She worked in magical law, and was able to retrieve files that we needed, as well as keeping an eye on the goings on for Dumbledore.” 

“But you didn’t work in the ministry.” 

“No, i’m afraid not. Werewolves aren’t officially banned from working within the ministry, but we are highly discouraged. There wasn’t department in the whole damn place that would dare hire me.”

“So what did you do?” Harry asked

Remus paused and took a sip of his tea “I infiltrated some the packs around the UK and abroad.”

“What, packs of werewolves?” Harry asked. Remus nodded. “Was it difficult?”

“Sometimes, yes. The packs typically didn’t want outsiders to know where they were. Some of them were willing to listen to me, hear out what Dumbledore had to tell them. A lot of them remember what Dumbledore has done for us over the years. But others were more difficult. Damn near got myself killed trying to get into Greyback’s camp. Sirius was furious at Dumbledore for that.”

“Why was he mad at Dumbledore?”

“Well I had to go alone.” Remus said “I was the only one they could send into these places, while the general policy was that you never go alone into dangerous situations.”

“But you were the only werewolf.” Harry assumed

“Precisely. We couldn’t send anybody else. Not only would they be at risk, but the pack wouldn’t trust me. But i’d get hurt and not be able to tell anybody where i’d been, even Sirius. We were all stressed and tired and afraid, and when you have to lie for their own safety, people tend to grow suspicious, even of those closest to you.”

“So Sirius didn’t trust you?”

“It wasn’t his fault. We were all having to be so secretive, and the ministry kept passing laws to further oppress werewolves, so I was more and more against the ministry. It came out sounding like I was considering joining Voldemort.” 

“But you would never do that!” Harry said 

“No I wouldn’t, but you have to understand the amount of stress we were all under. We knew there was a traitor among us and we just stopped trusting one another. Which is exactly what can’t happen this time.” Remus explained “You have to promise that you’ll keep Hermione and Ron close to you. You can always trust them. It’s important to have people around you who you aren’t afraid to speak to.” 

Harry nodded “I will.” 

“Good boy.” Remus smiled. They ate for a while, Harry letting what he had learned sink in 

“Remus?” Harry asked

“Yeah?”

“I wish you were coming back to teach again.” he said. ‘

“I do, too, Harry. And I’m glad, here I was thinking you were embarrassed.”

“Only a little. But Ron said he’d think it was weird if one of his parents were his teacher.” 

He chuckled “Of course, Molly would only be a little terrifying as a professor.”

Harry laughed at the thought. His mood was a lot brighter than it was earlier in the day. 

——————

The chaos of King’s Cross was even worse than it usually was on September 1st. Sirius had managed to get the day off, which was no easy feat, and he and Remus were frantically getting everything together for Harry’s send off. The three of them were laden with things while they forced their way through the crowd. Sirius had to run back to the car as he had forgotten Hedwig the first time, who was now disgruntled, making a lot of noise in her cage. 

“Merlin, i’m sorry you bloody bird!” Sirius snapped as they ran through the gateway to platform 9 3/4. They found the Weasleys gathered by the train with the Grangers and finally could breathe. 

“Alright, be good, don’t cause any trouble and no skiving class” Sirius said to Harry 

“You don’t mean that.”

“No, I don’t, not at all.” Sirius said. He hugged his godson and ruffled his already messy hair “Raise hell.” 

Remus rolled his eyes “Please don’t. At least nothing that will get you killed or main anybody else.” 

“But where’s the fun in that?” Harry joked. He hugged Remus 

“Write!” He said as he let him go 

“I will, I will! I’ve got to go!” He detached himself from his family and followed Ron and Hermione into the train, trunks dragging behind them. Remus and Sirius waved them off as the train jolted into motion. They all let out a sigh of relief 

“Now lets go get caught up on the sleep I’ve lost for the past two weeks.” Sirius said 

“Busy at work?” Mr. Granger asked

“Chaos. Everybody is freaking out about the World Cup while trying to deny that anything serious is actually happening.” Sirius shook his head 

“They’ve even got us working overtime.” Arthur said “Speaking of, I should be going. Only had a few hours before I had to be back.”

“See you soon, Arthur.” Sirius said. Arthur gave Molly a kiss on the cheek before apparating out of the platform.

“I’ll never get used to that.” Mrs. Granger said. She looked at her watch “We ought to be going, too. We have appointments all afternoon.”

“Is Henry Farand coming back again?” Mr. Granger asked “Boy has terrible teeth.” 

“Yes he is. Nice to see you all again.” Mrs. Granger said with a smile. The two of them rushed off. 

“You two must promise to come to tea sometime this year.” Molly said 

“Of course, Molly” Remus said with a smile 

“Right then, i’ll be off!” She didn’t leave before hugging the two of them. When she was gone, Remus looked after her fondly.

“Good old Molly.” 

Sirius grabbed Remus’ hand “Well we’ve got a rare day to ourselves it seems.” Sirius said with a grin. 

“Yes, I suppose we do.” Remus said “I see no reason not to waste it wandering around London.”

“Among other things-“ Sirius said.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a month since Harry had left for school. He wrote frequently, telling them about Mad Eye Moody’s lessons and that he was excited to watch the happenings of the Triwizard cup (“Fred and George are planning on figuring a war around the age limitations, which seems like something you’d do, Sirius”) and complaining about Malfoy and the other Slytherins. Sirius would respond with hexes he should try on them, which Remus never explicitly told him not to try on them.

Remus had just finished a letter back to Harry when Sirius came back with a glass of fire whiskey for each of them. 

“What’s the occasion?” Remus asked, taking a sip

“Friday.” Sirius shrugged “Besides, when was the last time we got roaring drunk.” 

“Since we were in our twenties and it was still acceptable to get roaring drunk.” Remus said “But that is exactly what i’m in the mood for.” 

“Brilliant.” Sirius said. He sat next to Remus and took a sip of his own drink. 

Remus flicked his wand and music began to play from the record player they had set up in the living room.

“Nice pick.” Sirius said, swaying a bit to the rhythm. 

“Bowie is your favorite.” Remus said. He leaned over and kissed him deeply. He tasted like fire whiskey and the peppermint gum he chewed during the day. Sirius put his hands on Remus’ waist and brought him onto his lap. Remus straddled him and kissed him more deeply. The soft buzz of the liquor was beginning to set in and he felt warm down to his core. They stayed like that for a long time, lazily drinking each other in. Sirius pushed Remus down so his back was against the couch and kissed down his neck, undoing the top buttons of his shirt with this teeth. 

Remus moaned and brought Sirius back up to face him. 

“I love you.” He whispered

“I love you too, Moony.” 

They kissed again but suddenly a loud CRACK filled the air.

Remus jolted up, managing to whack Sirius in the nose with his forehead. There was an owl in their living room

Sirius swore loudly and clutched at his nose while Remus went to retrieve the owl. 

“Bloody fucking animal” Sirius yelled. The owl looked indignant as Remus untied the scroll and read “What’s it say?” 

“Oh my god.” Remus muttered

“What?”

“It’s from the school. Harry- His name came out of the goblet of fire.” 

“WHAT?” Sirius said, still clutching his face “Did he put it in there?”

“It doesn’t say. They want us there right now.” 

“Right, right, lets go.” Sirius said 

“Hold on.” Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sirius’ face “Episky.” 

Sirius let out a cry and it cracked into place 

Remus winced “Sorry about that, love.” 

——

A moment later, they walked out of the fireplace in a rush of green flames. Harry was standing across the room, looking terrified, and for good reason. Along with Dumbledore, Barty Crouch, Igor Karkaroff, Mad Eye Moody, an impossibly tall woman who was now sneering at them, and Snape. 

“Is this a bloody interrogation?” Sirius said 

“Well as it appears your godson has once again shown a flagrant disregard for the rules- a trait it seems he learned from you, Black- it is an interrogation.” Snape said 

“What’s he doing here?” Sirius said, looking to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore raised his hands to silence the unruly crowd. 

“Nobody is being interrogated here, Sirius. We simply need to figure out what happened.” he said calmly. “Now Harry, did you put your name in the cup?”

“No!” Harry said “I wouldn’t- I don’t want to be in the tournament, I didn’t do it.”

“Of course he would lie.” the giant-woman said. Her accent was thick and french. 

“If Harry says he didn’t do it, I believe him.” Sirius said defiantly. Remus watched the crowd carefully, not speaking up.

“It’s clear that Potter arrogantly thought he was above the rest of us and that the rules, as usual, do not apply to him.” Snape said 

“Say another word, Snivellus, and I’ll turn you into a slug. Which would be an improvement, I think.”

“Sirius.” Remus muttered in warning. 

“The cup is a powerful magical instrument. It couldn’t be fooled by the magic of a fourth year.” Mad Eye put in “Clearly somebody submitted Potter’s name in order to cause him some harm. Perhaps somebody is trying to kill him.”

“Mad-Eye, is this really the time?” Sirius said, glancing at Harry, whose eyes had grown wider

“The point of this is not how Potter’s name got into the cup, it’s that now we must decide what to do now that it is.” Barty Crouch spoke up

“Well obviously he’s not competing.” Sirius said “He’s fourteen.”

“I’m afraid he doesn’t have a choice.” said Crouch “the cup is a binding magical contract.”

“Are you kidding me?” Remus spoke up. Harry was a little terrified by the look in Remus’ eyes. He never got angry. “He’s three years younger than every other student in this bloody tournament! He hasn’t the training or the maturity to take part in this. I don’t give a damn about magical contracts!” 

“He’s right, Remus.” Dumbledore said “There’s nothing we can do.” 

“Fuck that!” Remus yelled. Everybody jumped back, not expecting that reaction from a typically passive man. Remus composed himself and took a breath. “Sorry.” 

“If there was anything I could do to prevent Harry from competing, I would. But given the situation, there is no alternative. He will have to compete in the triwizard tournament with the other three champions.”

Remus clenched his jaw but didn’t speak. 

“Well then you better be damned sure you’re keeping him safe.” Sirius said “If you’re forcing him into this fucking game, you’re responsible for his wellbeing. If anything happens to him, you’re responsible.” He gave a long look at Snape.

“I assure you, Sirius, no harm will come to Harry.” Dumbledore told him. He put a hand on Sirius’ shoulder, but he shrugged it off. He gestured to Harry “Give us a minute?” 

Dumbledore nodded and gestured for the rest of the group to leave them alone. As the door closed behind them Remus kicked the wall. Harry jumped. The only other time Harry had seen Remus get this angry was when the ministry passed a law that made him register with them and tell employers of his condition, costing him a job he'd had for a while.

He could still remember him yelling obscenities and balling up the daily prophet before storming out of the cottage to calm himself down. 

Sirius was the one who raged, who yelled and threatened and cursed.

Sirius put a hand on Remus' shoulder to calm him.

"Harry listen to me." Sirius said "You can get through this, alright? You're smart enough and talented enough to get through anything they can throw at you."

"Sirius, I'm not ready." Harry said, his voice panicked

"You don't have a choice. You have to be ready."


	5. Chapter 5

Remus and Sirius had received several letters from Harry after his name came out of the cup. It seemed he was having a rough go of it. 

Ron had stopped talking to him, believing Harry had lied to him about putting his name in the cup. Snape was being cruel again (“I say hex him” Sirius had said angrily), and on top of that, the Daily Prophet was running an interview full of quotes he hadn’t given. 

Remus got ahold of it and read it out loud to Sirius 

“Harry Potter, illegal entry to the Triwizard Cup reveals all. Potter, aged 12, already had notoriety after his famous defeat of Voldemort while only an infant. Potter spent his childhood out of the public eye, being raised by his godfather Sirius Black and his partner Remus Lupin, who is a known werewolf. Was it the tragedy of his past that encouraged Harry Potter to join this incredibly dangerous tournament? A way to prove himself to his reckless and law-breaking guardians? Or is it a cry for help from a neglected child? Rita Skeeter tells all on page 12.”

“This is complete bullshit!” Sirius said, snatching the paper to read it over again. 

“It’s that Skeeter woman. She’s a complete hag.” Remus sneered 

“Neglected child’ he’s never been neglected in his life!” Sirius said “And was it really necessary to point out that you’re a werewolf to the entire country?” 

“She wants to paint us as terrible influences, of course it was necessary.” 

“I’m not reckless!” Sirius said, pointing the phrase out 

“Well…”

“Okay well i’m a little reckless, but I don’t encourage Harry to be!” Sirius ranted, pacing around the living room 

“I know that.” Remus said. Sirius balled up the paper and threw it into the fire 

“Fucking Rita Skeeter. Doesn’t she understand that some people don’t want their personal lives blasted across the front page?”

“She doesn’t care as long as hers is there along with it.” Remus said “Harry must be mortified.” 

“He hates being in the public eye.” Sirius said 

“He and I have that in common.” He rubbed his temples “He said they all think he did it on purpose and 3/4ths of the school hates him because the prophet is ignoring Cedric.” 

“He didn’t write the bloody article! It’s not his fault.” Sirius groaned “Though the Hufflepuffs are ruthless when they feel wronged.”

“Exactly.” Remus said 

“And we still have no idea what the first task is.” Sirius said “This is a nightmare.”

“I can only imagine how terrified Harry is right now. And alone.”

“At least he has Hermione.” Sirius sighed “I’m disappointed at Ron. They’ve been best friends since first year and all of a sudden he doesn’t trust him?” 

“I can imagine how Ron is feeling.” Remus said 

Sirius shot him with a look

“Well, think about it. He has five older siblings, all of whom he thinks shine brighter than him. And now his best friend is in the national spotlight again.” Remus said “He feels constantly overshadowed.”

“I suppose. Still no reason to distrust your friends.” Sirius said “And don’t give me the ‘you distrusted everybody during the war’ because that’s a completely different situation.”

“Just give him time, he’ll come around.” Remus assured him “The two of them couldn’t stay apart for too long, they’re like brothers.”

———————————

The days following the “interview” with Rita Skeeter had been the worst. He had never felt this alone at Hogwarts before. Sure, he had Hermione, but there was only so much time one could spend in the library a day. They had been researching ways to fight off dragons. Hagrid had caught up to him one day and shown him what the first task was going to be. So far their research had come up dry and Harry was beginning to panic. 

He was walking back to the library when his already bad day got a hell of a lot worse as Malfoy and his cronies approached him.

“Like the badges?”

“Piss off, Malfoy.” Harry said, trying to shove past him 

“Being a little rude! I suppose it makes sense if you’ve been raised by wolves.” Malfoy said, soliciting laughs “Oh sorry, werewolves.”

“It’s better than being raised by Death Eaters.” Harry said “How’d your dad like the world cup?” 

Malfoy’s grin drooped into a sneer and Harry took the opportunity to shove past him. He was not in the mood to deal with him today. 

Harry was still fuming by the time he reached the library, where Hermione was already surrounded by a sizable pile of books. 

“What’s the matter?” Hermione asked

“Nothing.” Harry practically threw his bag down. Hermione fixed him with a look and he sighed “Skeeter’s stupid article from the other day. It’s given Malfoy a whole new territory for trying to make me miserable.” 

Hermione frowned “Well then you’re not going to like the prophet for the day.” 

She went into her bag and pulled out the latest edition of the Daily Prophet “Page 11.” 

Harry turned to the page in question and on the right hand margin, found a picture of Remus with the headline. 

“Potter’s entry to the triwizard cup: a new argument for banning werewolves from raising children?”

“Are they kidding? They’re really blaming him for this?"

"It's just another way for them to take down werewolves, it's completely prejudiced. They talk about how his and Sirius' relationship 'clearly fosters an unhealthy psyche'"

"This is bullshit!" Harry said, a little too loudly. Madame Prince came up the aisle and fixed him with a glare and shushed him. He lowered his voice "clearly if they think that Remus and Sirius are doing a bad job as parents, they haven't met my aunt and uncle and cousin."

Harry was forced to spend three weeks of his summer at the Dursley's every year. It was miserable, but it had always been like that.

"The only people who believe they're doing a bad job are the people dumb enough to believe everything the prophet tells them. Or those who are stuck in outdated ways of thinking."

"Like Malfoy." 

"Exactly. It's the same in the muggle world." Hermione said 

Harry silently fumed at the paper for a while longer, not really being able to focus on finding more about dragons. All of this felt too similar to the first time anybody had made fun of him for the way his family was. 

He was eight, and a boy at his primary school had seen Remus and Sirius drop him off at school and decided to make fun of him. He thought it was funny that he had two blokes for parents. 

Harry had hit him and been sent to the head teacher’s office. Remus came to get him, as Sirius was at work. He took him home and tried to understand what had happened. Remus had explained that people weren’t always going to understand, but he wasn’t to force them to understand by hitting them. 

“Sometimes people are afraid of things they’re not used to.” Remus had explained “But you can’t give them more reason to be afraid of you. Sometimes you just have to be the better person.” 

Harry had come to understand that he not only meant his and Sirius being gay, but also being a werewolf in the wizarding world. He knew Remus was more frustrated with the world than he let on. He was world-weary at this point, but he never wanted Harry to know that. 

Sirius was the one who got angry. When he found out that Harry was the only one who got in trouble for the hitting incident, he had marched back to the school and yelled at the head teacher, demanding to know why the other boy wasn’t punished. 

When they read the article, Harry knew that Remus would just get quiet and sad while Sirius raged and threw things. He’d bunch up the paper and throw it into the fire and curse Rita Skeeter’s name. Harry liked that about Sirius. The fact that he had unbridled emotions, no matter what they were. 

Either way, the two of them didn’t let anybody judge them. They would never stop doing something or be ashamed just because somebody didn’t like it. And that’s what Harry would do. So what, nobody thought he was the true Hogwarts champion? And true, perhaps he wasn’t, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do well. He’d prove to all of them that he had just as much of a right to be here as the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to jump in and insert my head canons/what i'm writing for in this fic
> 
> Harry is mixed race, James being Indian.  
> I headcanon Hermione as black, because lets be honest it's p much canon. 
> 
> Also Bisexual Remus, queer Sirius.


End file.
